The present invention is related generally to airbags and airbag assemblies. More specifically, the present invention is related to airbag assemblies that include a mechanism for restricting or altering the direction of initial deployment of the airbag.
Inflatable airbags have become standard equipment in modern automobiles. Such airbags typically include a bag portion that inflates when a predetermined condition is met (e.g., an automobile impact). Such airbags may be mounted in a steering wheel, in a portion of a dashboard, or in various other locations within the vehicle.
Conventional airbags used in vehicles are configured to inflate or deploy in the direction of a vehicle occupant. One issue with airbags that deploy in this manner is that in certain situations the impact of the airbag on the vehicle occupants may be greater than is desired. For example, in a front-mount or a mid-mount airbag installation, the deployment door of the airbag module may be directly in front of the chest of a relatively young child. In the event that the child is not properly positioned within the vehicle (e.g., has slid forward on a seat), the impact of the airbag on the chest of the child may be greater than would be desirable.
It would be desirable to provide an improved system for altering the initial direction of inflation of an airbag. It would also be desirable to provide a system for reducing the amount of force transmitted to a vehicle passenger upon inflation of an airbag.